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Sabbath Devotional :: Musings on Palm Sunday
All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King, To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring. Thou art the King of Israel, Thou David’s royal Son, Who in the Lord’s name comest, the King and Blessed One. On a donkey he came to the Holy City. Such an odd war horse. And strangely there’s no weapon of vengeance. This healer, this miracle man, this strange talking Galilean who promised upheaval, overthrowing of false authority, a new world. Surely this was the long awaited King, come to save the people of Israel from the brutal grip of Roman oppression. As Moses delivered the forefathers from slavery in Egypt,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Seller of Purple
One of my favorite stories in the scriptures is the story of Lydia, or the woman from Lydia. Lydia was a region of Turkey (Asia) and the apparent place of origin of the woman referred to in Acts 16:14, now living in Philippi, Macedonia. She sold “purple”, which meant she was a business owner and could have sold dye, fabric, and/or finished garments. The type of “purple” she sold was the kind used by the highest courts in Rome and also symbolic of royalty. She had a household, meaning she was the head of a group of people living in her house, although the scriptures are not specific about whom…
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Sabbath Devotional :: French Fries, Fear, and Faith
In December 2016 I sat across from my 30-year-old son Chase at a table in the cafeteria in Chicago’s Art Institute. While he dipped his fries in ketchup and mayonnaise (a taste treat he acquired on his mission to the Netherlands), he reached for my phone. “Here, Mom, I’m going to put the phone numbers of your state representatives into your phone. Who are they?” he said. “I have no idea,” I answered. I was a new citizen of Utah and really didn’t pay attention to such things. Tapping away at other buttons on my phone he pulled up a site that tells you who your representatives are by your…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Vessel
Sharing these thoughts tonight with a mostly spent lamp and immense gratitude for your prayers and fasting. In preparation for teaching the parable of the Ten Virgins in a gospel doctrine class a few years ago, I learned a few things about ancient Jewish wedding traditions. The groom became betrothed (or legally married) to the bride first, but then went back to his father’s house to prepare a home for the new couple and left her to prepare herself and her dowry for their new life together. This separation was generally for about a year, but the exact time of his return for her was not set. The custom was…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Alma and Amulek — Joining Together to Make a Difference
After serving as the chief law-giver and judge of the people for nine years, Alma the Younger became increasingly distraught with what he observed among his people. People were growing prouder and vainer, focusing more on “riches and upon the vain things of the world,” becoming “scornful, one towards another,” and persecuting those who believed differently. There were “great contentions among the people” as well as “envyings, and strife, and malice” — and this division, this conflict, this hate existed not only outside of the church but inside it as well, festering like a cancer among people who had outwardly professed to have adopted the doctrine of Christ. The “wickedness…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Parable of the Plastic Bag, or The Lord Shall Prepare a Way
I want to tell you a story. I call it “The Parable of the Plastic Bag.” Technically, it’s not a parable, because it’s true. But “The True Story of the Plastic Bag” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. So, here’s the story. Which really happened, just as I tell it. One morning several years ago I went for a run. As I ran, I was praying and thinking and sort of spiritually planning my day. I had a lot to get done, and knew I’d have to stick to a very tight schedule. But it all seemed very routine and small-circle-focused (meetings, appointments, kids’ school activities, lessons, laundry,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Eyes and Hearts Wide Open
It’s no secret that life is full of ambiguity. Here at MWEG, in particular, we’ve all learned that, while some issues can be reduced to simple blacks and whites, more often than not, the “ethical” solution is nuanced and not immediately clear. We rely on the Spirit and the clarifying power of love as we seek answers. How, though, can we repeatedly and successfully grapple with the distance we know exists between the real and the ideal? Listen to these words from Bruce C. Hafen: “The English writer G. K. Chesterton once distinguished among ‘optimists,’ ‘pessimists,’ and ‘improvers.’ The most productive response to ambiguity . . . is at level…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Jesus and the Bent Woman
The Gospel of Luke shares an intriguing story in Chapter 13:10-17. For the last recorded time in his ministry, Jesus teaches in the synagogue. Among the listeners is a woman. In that day only men’s presence “counted” for quorums, so there may not have been many women in attendance. This woman is unique not just because she’s in the minority, but because she suffers from an ailment that has curved her spine so severely that for the last 18 years she hasn’t been able to stand up straight “at all.” She constantly faces the ground, the dirt, the trash and debris. She can’t look people in the eye. Imagine how…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Am I One of the People Who Helps?
One of my Jewish friends mentioned, ‘the Anne Frank game’, but I didn’t know it was a widespread phenomenon until I saw a video about it in the Anne Frank House and Museum in Amsterdam. It’s not an official game — that would be crass — but a conversation that crops up among Jewish friends all over the world originating with the question, “Who would be the five helpers in your life?” As you know, the Frank family and others were assisted by five beloved helpers who sacrificed their time, money, safety and risked their lives to protect friends and strangers. When rereading the diary this summer, I was amazed…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Three Words
My husband Chris (a wise man, as opposed to a wise guy) directed my attention today to the transcendent scripture Psalm 46:10 (KJV): “Be still, and know that I am God.” If you transliterate that into Hebrew you get these three words: raphah yada’ ‘elohiym These are the meanings of those words: raphah: to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, withdraw yada’: to know, learn to know, perceive, find out, discriminate, distinguish, know by experience, recognize, admit, acknowledge ‘elohiym: gods, The God, judge, goddess, divine one, godly, great If ever there were a need for me to ruminate on this scripture and its rich, holy and layered meanings, it is…
